Moving On
by humbleteacher
Summary: Bella was stunned when Edward left her. She has moved on with her life, but she is making decisions based on her past with Edward. Will they meet again?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my real attempt at writing. I do not own ****Twilight****, but I sure wish that I did. **

**This story takes place after Edward leaves, but he does not return. Well, at least not yet.**

Three days left…I sighed softly to myself. Although the semester would be ending soon, I knew that I would remain on campus rather than returning to Charlie's empty home in Forks. Just this morning, he phoned me once again trying to make sure that I would be okay spending the semester break in this cold empty town. I sighed. I knew I could not keep Charlie from his dream ice fishing trip, but, really, just how I would spend my time was a mystery to me.

It was not that I regretted my decision to leave Forks. I knew that I surprised most of my classmates, myself included, by not returning to live with Renee in the warm sun. Well, I said that, but I knew I did not surprise myself. I knew exactly why I came up to Alaska. _Him._

Wincing as the name threatened to flash through my mind, I suddenly remembered that this wound that he caused had not healed. It was not close to healing and probably never would. Jacob had tried to patch me up, and he had managed with some success. I even thought that for a brief moment that there might have been a future for Jacob and me. Jacob, my own personal sunshine. Boy, I could use some of that right now.

Damn. Go ahead, Bella, and add insult to injury. Why shouldn't I dwell on the dark, miserable, gloomy side of what is my pathetic life. Plopping down on the bench, I slipped on my waterproof suede boots. As I was putting on my jacket, I peeked out the window and saw sleet. Well, it was what I was expecting, but still, I could feel the disappointment welling up in my chest. I should have joined Renee. I could have had my toes buried in the sand. Sighing, I walked outside and briskly walked to my truck.

The door creaked open, and I slid in as quickly as I could manage. Taking off my gloves, I put the key in the ignition. I held my breath as I waited and waited. As the engine roared to life, I let out a big sigh of relief. The last thing I needed was for this old Chevy to die on me. I turned on the radio. For a while after _he_ left, I could not listen to music, any music. After that, my taste went to, let's just say, an extreme. Finally, the songs that we heard, the soundtrack to my once bright and shiny life, fell out of rotation, and now, I could listen once more. Naturally, my luck did not hold out. Really, did they need to make a song called, "Bleeding Love"? Turning the radio off and banging my head softly on the steering wheel, I let out a big breath and tried to rein in the tears.

I came to Alaska knowing that _he and his family_ often visited Alaska, and Anchorage is not that far from Denali. It's not that I expected to see _him_ just walking down the street, but it could happen. Every day, I found myself looking for a flash of his hair or for a glimpse of _her_ pixyish frame. Once I reminded myself that it was not going to happen, I just kept my eyes down trying to avoid slipping on the ice that was there way too often.

Turning the music on once more, I was relieved that a commercial was on and began singing along with it. I wiped my eyes and slowly began my short commute home. I passed slowly out of the city limits to my apartment. I stumbled to the door of my house getting colder and wetter but, the good thing was, I was managing pretty well. I groaned as I remembered the once too many times that I crashed down onto the ice. It was a great relief when I entered my warm, but pretty much bare, apartment. I tossed my jacket on the kitchen table along with my purse. Relieved, I went about getting myself settled in for a long night.

Settling in on the couch, I coved myself in my fleece blanket. My Double Stuffed Oreos and warm hot chocolate sat on the end table near the lamp. I flipped open the computer and it roared to life. My computer, I just loved it. It was a gift from both Charlie and Renee. When I first approached them about it, I was afraid they would say that it was too expensive. I was very surprised, pleasantly, that they both agreed to pay half. Of course, my main argument was that we could use instant messenger and a web cam…Renee would hear from me often. Once she agreed, Charlie just followed along.

Sure enough, Renee was online as soon as I logged in. I smiled ruefully as I noticed she was in a short sleeved shirt and looked suspiciously tanned. She peppered me with questions about my finals, and I reassured her that everything was fine. Of course it was fine. All I did was go to class, work at my cheesy campus job, and study. Unfortunately, in three days all that would be done for about a month. The question remained, just exactly how was I going to fill my days. We talked for a while, and then she told me about Phil. He wanted to go camping. I laughed knowing that Renee would pretty much do anything that he asked her to do, and I wondered just how much she would like sleeping on the damp ground surrounded by wildlife. We talked easily until the silences began. Knowing that the apartment would be silent when this conversation ended, I struggled to keep up the flow of conversation. Without thinking, I mentioned that there was a national park not too far away and that I may try going skiing. I waited, a long, long time, for Renee to stop laughing. She even pulled Phil into the conversation. I could feel that old stubbornness returning, pushing me forward. "Yes, Mom, I am going skiing. You can look it up. It is right near Mt. McKinley in Denali State Park." Did I really just commit to that? Yep, I surely just did. Yikes.

Way too soon, the conversation ended. The apartment fell silent, and I was left to think about what I had just committed to. I groaned just thinking about it. With all of my school work done and my studying pretty much done, I had time to look up the Denali website. The more I looked, the more strangely excited I became. The name Denali rang in my head, and I knew exactly why it had popped up. My breath caught as I whispered the name in my head again, not daring to say it aloud. I knew exactly what was in Denali and who might be there. Never mind that I was a danger magnet. Never mind that Laurent had been killed because of me. None of that mattered to me at the moment. I sighed and let my mind run free knowing that I would seriously pay for it later. Softly, I began to hum my lullaby as visions of Edward flowed through my mind. I fell asleep happily dwelling in the past digging up all of those feelings that I had tried to bury.

Night passed quickly, and I awoke with the full knowledge that I had dreamed of him. In the dark Alaskan morning, I could not even manage to think his name as the dull ache returned to my chest. I wrapped my arms around myself just as much to keep warm as to close those feelings back inside. I dragged myself off the couch, picked up my cookies and milk, and went about my normal morning. Today, I would be writing an essay for English in class. I could get through that pretty easily, and I was not at all concerned. I knew Elizabeth Bennett so well that she could have been my best friend or sister. I would have no trouble scribing an essay on her.

The following days passed pretty much the same. I just had to freshen up a little on my school work, so that took a minimal amount of time. I spent my days arranging my trip to Denali. It was a shoestring budget to be sure, and I was already investing more than I should in this trip. I knew, though, that I could not just stay in this apartment and dwell in the past. Even though I was running to a place that had a connection to the past, I could not just stay here in the dark replaying my every misstep from the past. In the end, I knew getting out would be a good thing for me, shiny vampires or not.

Much to my relief, the days passed quickly. Sooner than I expected, I was unpacking my bags at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Yes, I did say Denali Princess…can you believe that. The cozy wooden entrance did little to convey the breathtaking beauty of the view from the back deck. I quickly left the isolation of my room to explore my new surroundings. I was quite happy to be away from my stark apartment for Christmas. I stumbled into a hot tub. A hot tub….outside…in Alaska... I was just stunned. Well, there was one place I knew for sure that I would not be frequenting. Hot tubs are meant for, well, I am not sure where they are meant for. Surely, it is not for HERE though. I shook my head in amusement, a smile creeping up on my face for the first time in a long time. I was sure now that coming here was right for me. It was exactly what I needed


	2. Chapter 2

I own Twilight in my dreams…

**I own Twilight in my dreams….too bad that won't stand up in a court of law.**

I could feel _him_, his cold fingers, caressing my face. My lullaby floated through my dream. I woke up far too quickly, momentarily stunned. Strangely happy, I was in awe at what a simple change of scenery could do for a broken soul. Not wanting reality to crush my happiness just yet, I stayed in bed savoring the feeling of completeness that was surrounding me.

Reluctantly, I looked at the desk across the room. My laptop was sitting there, and I knew that I had some things to take care of… namely, Renee. In my excitement last night, I neglected to call her. Before she alerted Charlie and the National Guard, I quickly sent her an instant message with my deepest, sincerest apologies. I knew that would buy me at least a few hours before I had to call her. Since my computer was already fired up, I decided to check my email before going to breakfast. I noticed a new email from Jacob. Leaving it unopened, it sat there with his other unopened emails. I just could not deal with him, but I could not find it in my heart to delete them either. _Just what am I going to do with that? Nothing. Well, at least not yet._ Sighing, I quickly glanced at the other new items. I was glad to see an email from Angela Webber. She had a great first semester in college and was back in Forks with Ben. I smiled as she informed me that one or two people from school were asking about me. Hoping I would not be upset, she told me that she divulged full information about how I was doing and about my Alaskan skiing adventure to both of them. _It's probably Lauren and Jessica, and I really could care less what they think. _Finding the cutest Christmas e-card that I could find, I let her know that I was not upset and that I was looking forward to seeing her, maybe at spring break.

Suddenly, I realized that I had been sitting in front of my computer for a lot longer than I had planned. Not wanting to miss the breakfast buffet, I quickly dressed and went down to the restaurant. Yummy…Cocoa Pebbles, my favorite. I quickly poured myself a bowl and sat down with a brochure. Figuring out my plan for today was my top priority. As I was thinking, I could hear a commotion in the lobby. Some bigwigs must have checked in because the manager was in the front, saying, "Yes, madam. Of course, sir. Just feel free to contact me on my personal line if you have any requests..." and on and on. I decided to let the commotion die down before I went back in the lobby to find out where exactly the "bunny" slopes were.

As I approached the manager, I noticed that he barely glanced up at me. I posed the question to him about very, very simple beginning slopes. Looking up at me, not even at me, more like through me, he did not say a word. Instead, he pointed me to a bored teenager manning the desk. I quietly asked the girl about skiing assistance. She smiled kindly at me as she took out a map and marked out the path that I needed to take. She even told me where to find the cheapest rental equipment. I took a deep breath, sighed, and started on my way.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Twilight. Do you?**

Trudging through the snow, I realized that I had quite a hike ahead of me. As I was walking, my mind returned to Jacob. I could feel my whole body tense…my anger flaring up once more. It was a quick flash, but it was enough to spoil the delightful mood I had been enjoying. I could not stay mad at Jacob for long, and he knew that. He was just waiting patiently for my forgiveness to kick in. We both knew it would not be too much longer. I just could not stay mad at him… no matter how much I wanted to.

I should have been grateful to him. He was not only my best friend. He was my protector. I spent a lot of my time in La Push, not so much because I liked looking at Billy Black all day, but more because of Victoria. She was stalking me, no hunting me. I stood no chance alone. If it weren't for those damned teenage werewolves, I would be long gone. I would not blame any of them for being furious with me. Cliff diving...it was not one of my better ideas, much less doing it alone with no one to help me out. Jacob saved my life once again. I could not help but feeling guilt about my anger whenever I thought of him.

My gratitude changed to anger in a flash once Jacob, my sunshine and best friend, made his confession. My whole body shuttered as I thought of how close I had been to _her_. When I returned home from my cliff diving adventure, she was there. She was there, and I was there. I was so close to… _to what… a reunion, a rejection, well, I was close to something._ Jacob never spoke to Alice. She looked at him and at me, and he nodded that I was fine. He turned away. _He turned away and she was gone!_ Later that night when I was busy, I heard the phone ring. Jake answered it…._he called my house and I missed it. _Frustration registered freshly in my body and I looked down to see my hands shaking at the memory. _Jacob answered the phone and talked to him. He told him I was fine._ Bitterly, I laughed. Fine….I was anything but fine most days. I stumbled on a rock and landed squarely on the palms of my hands. Snow dotted my face and hair. Sitting down, I dusted the snow off. I contemplated Jacob once more. Months later, he confessed. Not an apology, he was not sorry. He just admitted the truth. I walked away from him, and we have not spoken since. Although my visits to La Push stopped, I knew my protection had not stopped…it still has not stopped. If it had, surely I would be dead by now.

Suddenly, I felt as if all my energy had been sapped. I just sat there in the wet snow, feeling lost and alone. What a mess my life had become.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Twilight, but it sure** **does own me.**

"Be careful…keep your skis straight this time," I gazed down at my helper. She was stunningly blonde with crystal clear blue eyes and a wicked sense of humor. Of course, she was only eleven, but she really did know what she was talking about. Joining this particular "bunny" group, I was the oldest person present including the instructor. Lydia, however, was the first one to patiently help me out. She was there helping out her younger sister, who by the way was eight and doing splendidly. Not being needed by her sister, she naturally gravitated to the person who was slowing down the whole learning curve of the group, me. By the end of the day, I could ski in a straight line and stop. Not too shabby for my first time out. I thanked Lydia profusely and gave her a big hug.

I walked back to the hotel, and I quickly noticed the achiness beginning to set in. I knew that I would need some medication for this … the sooner the better. I approached the manager, _ugh,_ and I noticed that his attitude was no better than this morning. As I asked him for directions to the nearest drug store, he did not even look up at me. In fact, he never even saw me at all. He just quickly mumbled some directions and waved his hands as if to shoo me away. I held my head up high as I walked out of the lobby to my old red Chevy. Looking around the parking lot, all I could see were higher end, shinier new cars. My truck had never looked so out of place. I sighed as she roared to life.

I quickly drove to the drug store, bought my pain medication and a Coke, and returned to the parking lot. Unfortunately, the parking lot was full. I drove up and down a few times until I found a spot. It would be a little tight, but I figured I could manage it. Holding my breath and gripping the wheel so hard that my knuckles turned white, I just barely managed to squeeze in right next to a beautiful Mercedes. Relieved, I unbuckled and picked up the plastic bag next to me. I swung the door open and slammed my door right into the door of the very beautiful, very new, and very expensive looking car right next to me. I looked at the car for a few moments, dazed, as I stared at its huge new dent. "_Lovely, just my luck,"_ I thought to myself.

Knowing the right thing to do, I wrote down the license plate number and returned to the lobby. Looking at the front desk, I could see the obnoxious manager busily talking on the phone. Relief flooded me as I noticed the girl who had helped me earlier. I pasted a smile on my face and approached her. She was very understanding as I whispered my situation to her. I gave her the license plate number, and she looked it up in the hotel registry on the computer. With a sympathetic smile, she gave me the room number of the owners of the car and wished me luck.

At first, I returned to my hotel room to quickly freshen up and take my medication. Not wanting to wait too long, I collected myself and decided to just go and get it over. Looking at the room number of the person that I was about to make really upset, I noticed that it was on the top floor. As I rehearsed my apology and thought of ways that I could afford this repair, I pushed the elevator button. It is funny how fast an elevator can move just when you want it to slow down. It lurched to a sudden stop. I stepped out of the elevator and looked up and down the hall for the correct room number. There were only two rooms up here, and they really weren't rooms. They were suites. I found the right number, held my breath, and raised my hand to knock.

Wildly, the door swung open before my hand could even make contact with the wood. I closed my eyes, and all I could hear was, **"Bella! What took you so long! Alice told us that you would be here soon." **This was not what I was expecting at all, so I slowly opened my eyes. Then I saw them…Esme and Carlisle looking at me with excited faces.


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own ****Twilight.**** Well, I do. I own a copy of the book, but that is about it.**

"I…er…um…I dented your car door." I whimpered out slowly. At this point, there were thousands of other things I wanted to say, really needed to say. But, these were the first words out of my mouth. Esme put her arms around me and pulled me gently into her suite.

"Don't you worry about that for a minute. Alice already described the damage to Rosalie, who is already preparing for the repair," Esme replied graciously. We walked to the soft leather couch not taking our eyes off each other. We sat silently for a few minutes…I think she was giving me time to absorb the shock. Of course, it occurred to me, Alice would have foreseen my reaction and prepared them for it. Carlisle, standing in front of me, cleared his throat and told me how nice it was to see me again. He gently knelt down and asked me about how I was feeling and if I was hurt. Confused, I replied that I felt fine, but it came out broken and stuttered. I must have looked quite bewildered because he chuckled a little and added that Alice had seen a few of my falls on the bunny slope. My cheeks burned as I remembered the almost full roll in the snow that I had begun my skiing lesson plus that little accident with the tree, and I hoped that she had not been too specific. Smiling gently, Carlisle managed to soothe my embarrassment, but the overall silence remained.

_What do I say? _I must have rehearsed this moment a million times during the last few years, but here it was in front of me. I was rendered speechless. I sat quietly, looking from my gracious hosts to a stunning panoramic view. Without catching my attention, Esme walked gracefully into the kitchen and retrieved a Coke for me. I smiled as I took the ice cold can and opened it. "I expect you will be hungry soon. Why don't you look at the room service menu? We would love for you to stay and catch up with us," Esme stated. I nodded and looked over the menu. Searching for an item that was in my budget, I found one, well if I didn't have breakfast the next morning. I mentioned that the hamburger with fries would be great. Carlisle nodded and walked to the phone to place the order. While he was doing that, Esme looked at me. After a few minutes, she sighed, "I am not sure how to tell you this, but soon Alice and Jasper will be joining us. Once she saw you here, there was no stopping her. I know you are a little shaken right now, but I have to warn you. Alice is very, very excited."

I nodded my head silently. I still had not quite found my voice. I struggled to get a simple word, a simple okay, out of my mouth. Taking a sip of soda and then a deep breath, the words finally came to me. "But Esme, Carlisle, what exactly are you doing here?"

Before they could answer, there was a knock on the door. Carlisle slowed down his natural pace to a more human one as he glided gracefully to the door. Wouldn't you know it, that manager was there delivering the food himself. Now, though, he was all pleasant and chatty. "How do you like the view, Dr. Cullen? Madam, is the room to your liking?" He chatted on insipidly for a few minutes. I stood up to walk to the elegant white cart that held the silver platters with my food. The manager, upon seeing me, went instantly pale. His stream of glittery chatter became a sputter. "Ummm, you are….looking…quite….lovely…umm...excellent…this evening, madam…." I looked him in the eye and thanked him in my most charming voice. He quickly left the room. Esme was staring at me.

"I am not quite sure what that was about, but thank you. Had you not been here, I am quite sure that he could have carried on hour after hour for an eternity" Shaking her head, she walked over to the cart, assisted me in setting up my food, and arranged a comfortable seating arrangement for us. Suddenly, I remembered that I was going to pay for my food. Reluctantly, I moved from my seat back to the couch where I had left my purse. As I unzipped it and took out my wallet, Carlisle was next to me within, well less than seconds.

"Bella, there will be none of that. We had to order food that was going to go to waste anyway. You are welcome to eat anything and everything that we ordered." I stared down at the delectable feast. I had not realized just how hungry I was. So, I sat down for a nice long feast forgetting that they had not yet explained exactly how they ended up at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Esme began questioning me, tenderly, about what I had been doing since they had seen me last. She looked at me very approvingly when I mentioned that I had begun college and was really enjoying it. I could tell from her questions that there were some topics that she was not approaching …who were my friends, what did I do for fun, why exactly did I choose to jump off a cliff. I loved, truly loved her for that. She had just asked me why I chose Anchorage for college, and I had just a moment to ponder if I was going to tell her the real reason or not, when the door slammed open. A sudden tsunami of tranquility enveloped the room as I heard, "Bella, Bella! Where are you?!" Alice, and thankfully Jasper, had made their grand entrance.


	6. Chapter 6

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, Bella, the Cullens… Some girls have all the luck

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, Bella, the Cullens… Some girls have all the luck.**

Tears welled up in my eyes as soon as I saw her, my best friend, standing in the door. She looked beautiful, naturally, but at that moment, she was the best thing I had ever seen. Since her sudden disappearance, I had not really had a close friend. That hole in my heart healed a little just at the very sight of her. It took me a long time to even notice Jasper was there. I collected my emotions, stood up, and walked over to them. Alice, annoyed at my slow pace, ran up to me and gave me the most gentle, most enthusiastic embrace she could muster. We just stood there, holding each other, for a long time. Tears in my eyes, all I could manage to say was, "I missed you." She looked back at me, but Alice, for once, could not manage to say anything. She was speechless! She grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the couch. She glanced at the golden clock on the wall.

"Bella, I hate to interrupt this reunion just yet, but you will really need to call Renee right now. She will be very upset soon, and I do mean very upset." Sighing, I knew at once she was right. Looking at Esme and Carlisle, I asked them if there was a place where I could have a moment to call my mom. A small smile came to my face when I realized, naturally, they would be able to hear every word of this discussion. Still, Carlisle led me into the master bedroom of the suite.

_WOW!_ That was all I could think. _WOW!_ The bed, done in solid, elegant white and cream coverlets and pillows, stood against the one wall that did not have any windows. Across from the bed, there were windows, lots of them. All around, you could see the dark gray sky topping off the snow-capped Alpine-filled mountains. It literally took my breath away for a moment as I gazed outside. I quickly dialed Renee. I could hear the relief in her voice as she registered that it was me on the phone. We talked for a while, but I could tell she was busy blowing up her mattresses and setting up her campsite. I promised her a longer discussion in the morning with a full description of my skiing experience. I walked toward the bathroom. I let out a groan when I saw my tear stained face. Knowing that I had all the time I needed, I still rushed to fix up whatever I could. There was a room of vegetarian vampires that I had to face.

Catching my breath, I walked back into the room. I stumbled a little on the edge of a rug or an invisible carpet fluff. Jasper sniggered at me but stopped as soon as Alice jabbed him in the ribs hard. Holding my head up, I looked around this room, my heart happier than it had been for a long time. Still, my happiness was incomplete. Most importantly, we had not yet come to the topic of _him_. Not only that, there were some topics weighing heavily on my heart. This reunion would not be complete without honestly. I took a deep breath and began, "You know, I am so glad to see all of you. I have missed you so very much. However, I would enjoy this a whole lot more if we just began by being honest. I have a lot to ask of you. You may have questions too. Let's just get everything out in the open right now." Four sets of golden eyes rested on my awaiting my next words.

"I have been waiting a long time to hear from any of you. When you left me, it hurt. I lost not only my love, my _Edward..."_ The pain, I could feel it as I uttered his name. They must have heard it too. "I lost my family. You were more of a family to me than I had ever had before, and then you were just gone. Emotionally, you destroyed me, all of you. I loved you, and you all just left me alone, alone and abandoned." I could feel the emotional upheaval inside. I was starting to repeat myself, but I could not stop. Turning toward Alice, I knew that I had to get this out. "Alice, you did not even look into my future except once._ Once._ Did you, any of you, have any clue that you left me alone to deal with Victoria? Did you know she was not the only vampire looking after me? Did you all not care? You just left me to be hunted." Tears were burning in my eyes. My cheeks were red, and I could no longer stand to look directly at any of them anymore. "I know _he...he..._ _Edward_ no longer loved me, but I thought at least one or two of you would have cared at least a little…" My voice was no longer sure…it was trailing off, choking in my throat. As much as I wanted to gloss over these issues, I knew I could not be content, be forgiving until they were out in the open. I was proud though. I managed to stay standing and to not collapse into a weeping pile of flesh.

The room was silent except for my breath, coming quickly and getting caught in my throat. During this confrontation, Jasper looked as if he were in physical pain. Feeling my hurt as if it were his own, he walked toward me with his hands outstretched. From him, I could feel the waves of peace that enabled me to slowly gain control of myself. Still absorbing the pain in this room, he led me to the couch. Alice and Esme moved closer to me. The only sound was the sound of my jagged breath.

Carlisle was the one to break their silence. "Bella, my daughter, I am sorry. We are all so very sorry. We cannot excuse the harm we have done to you. Please know that we acted in what we thought was your best interest. No harm, no pain was ever intended. My family acted to keep you safe, away from us and the danger we constantly brought into your life. Please accept our deepest apologies." I gazed up at him into those gentle golden eyes. To see this man and his family, so beautiful and kind, look so sad…well, it touched my heart. I was never one to hold on to my anger. I could not help but want to relieve their pain. I smiled at Carlisle and Esme. I could see their burden lift a little. Then, I turned toward Alice.

Alice, who knew what I was going to say, looked devastated. No amount of preparation or forewarning had prepared her for this. She looked crushed. The joy was gone from her eyes. "Bella, Bella, forgive me. You are my first friend. But, Edward is my brother. I tried to convince him. I did. I am so sorry." This was bringing me no joy, no satisfaction. I touched her shoulder. She looked at me, already knowing that she was forgiven, but looking for confirmation. The mood change was tangible, and the relief emanating from Jasper was immediate. We were not done, but an important barrier had been broken through.

Esme rolled the dining cart in front of me again. "Bella, dear, you have not finished eating yet, and it is getting late. While you were in the bedroom, Alice informed me that you would be sleeping here tonight and many other nights, so I took the liberty of having your bags delivered to our room. You will be staying with us for the remainder of the month in our suite."


	7. Chapter 7

**It is late, and I am too tired to be clever. I don't own Twilight, yada, yada, yada.**

"_If I could dream at all, it would be about you,"_ _Edward whispered in my ear._ _We were in my bedroom in Forks, and he was on my rocking chair. Quickly, all too quickly, it became a haze, and Edward was gone…gone…gone…_

Holding on to the image of Edward as long as I could, I covered my head with a soft white pillow. Looking up at the bedside clock, I could see it was already eleven o'clock, and I would need to be getting up soon. Taking a few minutes to remember exactly where I was …._not my hotel room or my apartment_…and who I was with…._yes, I am with the Cullens…well, at least some of them, _I closed my eyes to try to reorient myself to this new reality. What a difference a week makes! Last week I was shelving books in the university library, I reminded myself. I sighed happily. There was a giggle across the room. Sitting in a plush leather chair was Alice. She grinned wickedly at me, and stated, "Edward was right. You DO talk in your sleep a lot!" I glared at her and tried to remember exactly what I could have said. No luck. I never could remember much of my dreams once my eyes were open.

"Alice, what exactly _do_ you want this morning?" I asked wearily.

"Well, I _want_ to go shopping, and by the looks of that suitcase of yours, you _need_ to go shopping. But, that is neither here nor there today. We have things to take care of," she replied mysteriously.

Sitting up in bed, my hair a tangled mass of string, I gazed at her and smiled. "Exactly what kind of business do we have to do today? I am on vacation, remember? I have no plans, no 'things' to do." I remembered at that moment the first question that I had asked Esme and Carlisle last night. I appraised Alice's mood and went forward with the question. "Alice, I am so happy you are here, but what _exactly_ brings you here?"

She looked a little hesitant. I reminded her gently that it was time for honesty, and I really wanted the truth. Sighing, she began, "Carlisle sent Jasper and me to Forks to 'check up on the house.' I was more than anxious to go because I was hoping to get a sight of you. You were wrong last night, Bella. We have tried on many occasions to keep track of you. It has been hard because it was as if your future was blank. I could not see you at all. I would go and check up on you. I would relax for a while, but then when I could not see you or your future, I would become worried again. If I would have known about Victoria or any of the other problems, I would have been there, Bella. We all would have. I promise you that. Anyway, I would become worried, and I would go back again….several times a year. The last time we went was this month. I could still not see your future. Trying to get some grasp on where you were, Jasper and I went to Port Angeles, where we ran into Angela and Ben. We started talking to them, and your name came up. I was thrilled when they even knew which hotel you were at. So, I called Carlisle and Esme, and we made our reservations and came here right away. Well, I had to stop by Denali and let Rosalie know that the Mercedes would need some repairs." Staring at me, Alice mumbled that she still could not see my future. I honestly told her that I had no clue why I had dropped out of her visions. "Do you realize, Bella, that everywhere you go has a scent of wet dog?" I stared at her, shocked.

"Alice, I do not have a dog. Are you trying to insinuate that I smell? The shower is right there, and I can have that taken care of if you give me a minute to be human," I retorted snippily. "I was on the slopes yesterday, plus I had that long walk back and forth…It is only natural…human..for smells to occur. A girl can't go around smelling like a bouquet of flowers all the time. It takes work, you know."

Alice giggled. No, she did not giggle. She snorted at me. "Bella, that is not what I am saying at all. You are being followed by, to the best of my knowledge, a werewolf. Not just now and then, you know. It is ALL the time."

Relieved that the odor was not coming from me, I nonchalantly told her, "Oh, that is just Jacob Black," and I left it at that. Alice sat there, speechless, once more. Taking advantage of her shock, I asked her the question that was at the forefront of my mind…."Alice, exactly where is Edward Cullen?"


End file.
